1. Field of Invention
The process and apparatus of the present invention are related to adiabatic water chilling and heating operations coupled with absorption vapor pressure enhancement operations.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A large scale absorption air conditioning process comprises (a) a step of producing a stream of chilled liquid such as water or an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol at around 7.2.degree. C. (45.degree. F.), in an absorption liquid chiller and (b) a step of circulating a stream of the chilled liquid through air handlers to remove heat from indoor air and thereby return the liquid at around 15.5.degree. C. (60.degree. F.). Manufacturers of absorption chillers are Trane Corp. in Wisconsin and Carrier Corp. in New York State . There are several manufacturers in Japan including Sanyo, Ebara, Mitsubishi and Yasaki. A commercial absorption liquid chiller has a large vacuum enclosure enclosing (a) an evaporation zone, (b) an absorption zone, (c) a regeneration zone and (d) a condensation zone. The processing steps are as follows:
(a) As water enters the evaporation zone, flash vaporization causes formation of a first vapor and a mass of internal chilled water at around 4.4.degree. C. (40.degree. F). An external chill water at a first temperature around 15.5.degree. C. (60.degree. F.) then exchanges heat with the internal chill water and is thereby cooled to a second temperature at around 7.2.degree. C. (45.degree. F.).The chilled external chill water is then circulated to air handlers and heated to the first temperature and returned to the liquid chiller; PA1 (b) The water vapor is drawn to the absorption zone and is absorbed in a strong absorbing solution such as 63% aqueous lithium bromide solution. The absorbing solution is thereby diluted and becomes a weak absorbing solution, say 58% lithium bromide. The heat of absorption is released to a cooling water stream; PA1 (c) The weak absorbing solution then enters the regeneration zone, wherein it is heated and vaporized to generate a near ambient pressure water vapor and becomes a strong absorbing solution that is heat exchanged and returned to the absorbing zone; PA1 (d) The near ambient pressure water vapor is condensed by rejecting heat to a cooling water stream and the condensate formed is heat exchanged and returned to the evaporation zone. PA1 (a) "An adiabatic liquid-vapor interaction" refers both to the flash vaporization in a VPE chiller and the adiabatic condensation of the inner water vapor into the system water in a VPE heater. PA1 (b) "Heat interaction with the environment" refers both to removing heat of condensation by outdoor air or cooling water in a VPE chiller and generation of outer vapor by vaporizing water upon receiving heat from outdoor air or any low temperature heat source in a VPE heater. PA1 (c) "An adiabatic liquid-vapor interaction zone" refers both to the flash vaporization zone of a VPE chiller and the adiabatic inner vapor condensation zone of a VPE heater. PA1 (d) "An environmental heat interaction zone" refers both to the second vapor condensing zone in a VPE chiller and the outer water vapor generation zone in a VPE heater. PA1 (e) "An inner water vapor" refers both to the vapor formed in flash vaporization of the system water in a VPE chiller and the vapor to be condensed into the system water in a VPE heater. PA1 (f) "An outer water vapor" refers both to the second vapor to be condensed by heat interaction with the environment in a VPE chiller and the vapor produced by heat interaction with the environment in a VPE heater. PA1 (1) Water is vaporized in each evaporation zone to generate a first vapor (inner vapor) and chill the water; PA1 (2) The first vapor (inner vapor) is absorbed and a second vapor (an outer vapor) is generated in each vapor pressure enhancement zone; PA1 (3) The second vapor (outer vapor) is condensed in each condensing zone; PA1 (4a) In a Type A VPE/MPZ chiller, a stream of outdoor air flows through the fins to remove the heat of condensation; PA1 (4b) In a Type B VPE/MPZ chiller, a stream of cooling water flows through the condenser tubes to remove the heat of condensation.
The operations in a small conventional absorption air conditioner are similar to those of a larger unit described, except that the internal chilled water produced in the evaporation zone is circulated directly to an air handler.
An Immediate Heat Upgrading Absorption Air Conditioning System. (IHUA System ) has been introduced by Chen-Yen Cheng and has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,071 and corresponding international applications. The system uses Immediate Heat Upgrading Absorption Air Handlers (IHUA air handlers). In this system, an absorption solution consisting of a common salt and water is circulated through the IHUA air handlers to upgrade heat taken from a first air mass or water and release the upgraded heat to a second air mass immediately. Production of chilled water is avoided. An IHUA air handler has one or more Modular Evaporation-Absorption panels (E-A panels) with two sets of heat transfer fin assemblies. An E-A panel has two closely spaced heat conductive walls enclosing a film evaporative zone and a film absorption zone that respectively exchange heat with air to be cooled and air to be heated through the two sets of fin assemblies. A multiple pressure zone IHUA air handler and multiple pressure zone evaporation and absorption operations have been described. It is noted that the present application is a continuation in part application of a co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/295,771, which is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 851,298 that has become the U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,071 described.